October is National Cruise Month, with loads of opportunities to save on your next cruise. Looking for a last-minute romantic getaway? Want to take the kids on a fun sail-a-way? Cruises are hassle-free, relaxing, diverse way to see many places and do many activities in a short span of time. This month, most major cruise lines are offering major discounts and/or added benefits if booked and deposit paid the month of October. Over 5,000 cruise lines and travel agencies are participating! Our agents at Willamette Intl Travel can answer all your questions and help find a cruise that’s right for you and your loved ones. So what are you waiting for? Give us a call: 503-224-0180 or email info@wittravel.com.

Snapshots from National Cruise Month

Professional racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make an appearance on the first official Nascar-themed Cruise, with Norwegian.

At 500 am this morning Matthew is about 40 miles east southeast of Cape Canaveral or about 90 miles southeast of Daytona Beach. Maximum sustained winds are 120 mph and the storm is moving north northwest at 13 mph. Minimum central pressure is 938 mb. A turn toward the north is expected tonight or Saturday. On the forecast track, the center of Matthew will be moving near or over the east coast of the Florida peninsula through tonight, and near or over the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday.Matthew is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Although weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, Matthew is expected to be a category 3 hurricane as it moves near the coast of Florida today. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.

Tourism in Argentina Expected To Increase Thanks To A New VAT Refund

With a view of boosting tourism in Argentina and revitalizing the local hospitality sector, the government presented the official plan for a VAT refund on accommodation services for tourists coming from overseas. Under the new system, foreigners will pay a lower fee for accommodation services in the country. In other words, through this reform, the cost of renting a hotel room in Argentina will be cheaper for visitors. The refund will be automatic and will be given directly to the card that pays for the services and, according to official information, the measure will cover the entire supply chain of the hospitality sector.

IcelandAir To Offer Nonstop Service To Reykjavik From Tampa

IcelandAir will offer nonstop service to Reykjavik from Tampa International Airport beginning Sept. 7, 2017. Reykjavik is Iceland’s city and capital. The service will be twice a week. This will be the fourth international carrier in its growing lineup of carriers. The IcelandAir announcement comes on the heels of the one-year anniversary of Lufthansa’s nonstop flight to and from Frankfurt at Tampa International Airport, which began last September. IcelandAir offers flights to 39 cities in 16 countries, including 18 destinations in the United States. The new flight to Tampa will be the carrier’s second to Florida. IcelandAir also offers service to Orlando International Airport. IcelandAir is known for its stopover program, which encourages travelers from Europe or North America to “stop over” in Iceland on transatlantic flights for up to seven nights at no additional cost. The carrier’s main hub is at Keflavik International Airport, where it offers connections to dozens of destinations around the world.

LOT To Launch Los Angeles Flights

Polish airline LOT will connect Warsaw with the US West Coast from April, 2017. Although as yet there has been no official announcement, Business Traveller can reveal that Warsaw-based LOT will launch a four times a week non-stop service between Warsaw and Los Angeles on April 4. The flight will be operated by a three-class B787 configured for business, premium economy and economy. LOT would appear to be following in the footsteps of Vienna-based Austrian Airlines who recently announced that it too would launch flights to the US West Coast this coming April. Austrian Airlines will be providing the only non-stop link between Central Europe and Los Angeles while LOT will operate the only non-stop link to the US West Coast)from a city in the former Eastern Europe. Flight time is 12 hours, 20 mins for Warsaw-Los Angeles and 11 hours, 20 mins for Los Angeles-Warsaw.

KLM Runs Pilot Project With Artificial Intelligence
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is taking the next step in social servicing by testing artificial intelligence (AI) to help answer customer questions. When an agent needs to answer an incoming question, he or she gets a proposed answer through AI, which is trained on more than 60,000 KLM questions and answers. The agent decides whether the proposed answer is the right answer to the question, adjusts it if necessary and sends it across the appropriate social media channel. The system learns based on what the agent does, and becomes smarter in real time. KLM receives around 100,000 mentions per week via social media and this number is still growing. A dedicated team of 235 social media service agents personally engages in 15,000 conversations. The DigitalGenius AI system is integrated directly into KLM’s Customer Relationship Management tool, and provides a layer of deep learning and artificial intelligence to service agents in real time.

Holland America Bans Smoking On All Its Cruise Ship Balconies
Beginning January 2017, Holland America cruise line will ban smoking on all cabin balconies. No smoking of any kind will be permitted on any stateroom verandah. A “smoking of cigarettes, cigars and pipes is already not permitted in any stateroom. The new policy has been announced to better align with guest wishes and health concerns.” Holland America is the last major U.S. cruise line to enact the smoking ban; the most recent line to do so was Norwegian Cruise Line in November 2014. Royal Caribbean announced its smoking ban three years ago, followed by Carnival Cruise Line in July 2014. Holland America’s no-smoking-on-balconies ban will roll out fleetwide over five months on a staggered schedule.

The Insignia will take you from the southern Caribbean and South America to the western shores of Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope. Continuing to Asia, the itinerary features several overnight stays, including two-night stays in Rangoon (Yangon) and Shanghai. After stops in the Philippines, Borneo and Bali, guests will visit Australia and New Zealand before exploring the islands of French Polynesia. Insignia calls on four of the Hawaiian Islands en route to Los Angeles and then returns to Miami via the Panama Canal, completing her circumnavigation of the globe.

This fascinating voyage includes:

92 ports in 45 countries

Five maiden ports of call

14 overnight stays

Crossing the Equator six times

74 days at sea

Sailing more than 47,000 nautical miles

Oceanview Cabins start at $44,999 per person in Category E.

PLUS!! Guests reserving this journey will receive 2 for 1 Cruise Fares with Free FIRST CLASS Roundtrip Airfare* and Early Booking Savings up to 71%. They will also enjoy the Exclusive Prestige Package, which includes:

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Announcing Oceania Cruises’ first ever World Voyage!Reservations open TODAY!! Call Willamette International Travel now to book 800-821-0401 or ask one of our experienced agents for some firsthand feedback on-board.

Oceania will be launching its 180-day voyage aboard the 684-passenger Insignia. The ship will set sail roundtrip from Miami, embarking on Jan 10, 2015, sailing eastward and disembarking on July 8, 2015. Explore picturesque coastal towns or play in the spectacular cities of the world. This leisurely voyage will allow you to see everywhere from French Polynesia to Zanzibar in the elegance and comfort of your own private cabin. And you never have to unpack!

This journey of a lifetime will feature:

– 5 continents

– 44 countries

– 89 ports of call, 13 of which are new for Oceania

– 11 overnight calls

– 4 two-night calls in Cape Town, Yangon, Singapore and Shanghai

– 4 equator crossings

– 24 time zones

– 45 islands

– 47 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Oceania Cruises is a remarkable line known for its leisurely pace and its small ships. As Oceania President Kunal Kamlani describes the voyage: “We wanted to create a unique port- intensive voyage that reflects the dreams of the true explorer, rather than speed across the seas racing to the next convenient port as is the norm in a typical 100- to 110-day world cruise. By eliminating the 100-day time constraint, we freed ourselves to conceive a remarkable dream voyage designed to visit the world’s most fascinating destinations.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Early booking fares start at $39,999 per person for lead-in cabinsbased on double occupancy (that’s $222pp per day!) and can include any of these exclusive offers:

– 2 for 1 cruise fares

– Free first class roundtrip airfare

– Early booking savings up to 70%

– one-night pre-cruise luxury hotel stay in Miami

– first class airfare to reach the ship

– pre-paid gratuities

– luggage valet service

– on-board medical service at no extra charge

– free unlimited internet

– free exclusive shoreside events

– free comprehensive visa package

– free roundtrip transfers

Call Wittravel at 800-821-0401 to book your cabin on the world maiden voyage or to find out more. You can also click here.WIT Agent Nancy sailed on the Insignia in 2009, and would love to share with you her personal experiences!